Cincinnati shows why it's the best

STOCKTON - The Thunder and 4,409 fans found out why the Cincinnati Cyclones have the longest winning streak in ECHL history.

Scott Linesburgh

STOCKTON - The Thunder and 4,409 fans found out why the Cincinnati Cyclones have the longest winning streak in ECHL history.

The Cyclones won their 16th game in a row by dominating the Thunder 5-0 on Thursday. It was a smooth and precise performance that resembled a hockey clinic, and the Thunder couldn't match them.

"That's absolutely as good a team as we've played. I'd put them up against anybody," Stockton coach Chris Cichocki said. "It certainly wasn't our best game, and a great team like that can make you look bad pretty quick."

Among the highlights for Cincinnati was a hat trick by Mathieu Aubin, four assists by Olivier Latendresse and a 20-save shutout by Maxime Daigneault. David Desharnais also kept his ECHL-record streak going with an assist in his 19th consecutive contest.

The Thunder (22-30-3) had won three games in a row and was anxious to see how it would match up against what is considered the best team in the league. It didn't go well for Stockton, who suffered the same result as each of the Cyclones' opponents since Jan. 13, when they lost 5-2 to the Reading Royals.

Stockton defenseman Phil Cole said there's no doubt Cincinnati is good, but he thought the Thunder made a mistake by not being aggressive.

"I thought we probably showed them too much respect and gave them too much room to work," Cole said. "This is our rink. We have to make people come in and think about us."

The Cyclones (41-8-3) were aggressive from the opening faceoff and scored on two of their first four shots.

Aubin scored at 3:24 of the first period against Thunder goalie Tim Boron. Matt Syroczynski gave Cincinnati a 2-0 lead six minutes later, and Aubin scored in the second and third periods to bring his season total to 19. Gerard Miller had the final goal.

The Thunder gets one more shot at Cincinnati at 7:30 p.m. Saturday at the arena. But before the rematch, the Thunder plays host to Utah at 7:30 p.m. today.